Women, Work and Computing
Cambridge University Press, 12/28/2000
EAN 9780521777353, ISBN10: 0521777356
Paperback, 222 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm
Language: English
Although few dispute the computer's place as a pivotal twentieth century artefact, little agreement has emerged over whether the changes it has precipitated are generally positive or negative in nature, or whether we should be contemplating our future association with the computer more with enthusiasm or trepidation. Specifically with regard to the relationship between women and computers, a diverse body of commentary has embraced the views of those who have found grounds for expressing pessimism about this association and those who have favoured a more optimistic assessment of the current situation and its probable future development. This book undertakes a thorough evaluation of the legitimacy and predictive power of the optimistic commentary. Using a large body of original qualitative data, it interrogates the bases of what it identifies as three waves of optimism and in doing so provides answers to some of the key questions asked in this field today.
1. Gender and the development of computer culture
the myth of the neutral computer
2. Computers, communication and change
making way for the hybrids
3. Softech
a 'twenty-first century organisation'
4. Male and female pathways through the unit
5. Hybrids and hierarchies
6. Towards a framework for understanding the relationship between gender and skill in the unit
7. The female future and new subjectivities
8. Conclusion
is the future female?